What information does the Trade Register contain?

Source of information

The details of traders are entered in the Trade Register on the basis of notifications and communications received by the Trade Register authority. The register contains information that is submitted to the Registration Authorities by both the traders themselves and by Courts of Justice and other authorities.

Under Section 21a of the Trade Register Act, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) can update its records and, by using the Finnish Population Information System, check personal details that clients have given in notifications and their enclosures.

According to Section 21 of the Business Prohibition Act, the Legal Register Centre in Finland provides the Trade Register with details on business prohibitions in force and when they begin and end. These details are then updated in the Trade Register System.

Information entered in the Trade Register

The content of the Trade Register is specified by Finnish law. Finnish legislation concerning the Trade Register, company types and business activities in general define what details are entered in the Trade Register regarding different company types. (See for example Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act and Partnerships Act).

Normally, at least the following information is registered for each company type:

company name

municipality where the company is managed (domicile, place of registered office)

line of business

who represent(s) the company

address

Other details are also entered in the register, depending on the company type. The register extracts of businesses of the same type may look totally different. Some limited liability companies, for instance, take advantage of the possibilities offered by the Limited Liability Companies Act; they decide to issue option rights and other special rights, or to merge, and then report those details for entry in the register. Other companies, on the other hand, choose to report only such details that must be submitted for entering in the register. In addition, law amendments are reflected in the register extracts. Register entries of, for example, limited liability companies can be very different depending on whether the detail to be registered refers to a decision made under the Limited Liability Companies Act that entered in force on 1 September 2006, or to a decision under an earlier act.

Enclosure documents

In addition to the details contained in the register extract, information on traders is also available in the notifications filed with the Trade Register and in enclosed documents, such as the Minutes of the General Meeting and Board Minutes. The documents are open to public inspection and are available to anyone. Articles of Association of limited liability companies, Partnership Agreements of general partnerships and limited partnerships, by-laws of savings banks, right-of-occupancy associations, co-operatives and insurance associations are all available in the Trade Register database and they also form a part of the Trade Register’s basic material. Read more about our information services.

Below you will find a table which shows the information entered on different company types. It does not, however, include all details: other entries are also made in the register. It is neither possible to register every detail mentioned in the table for each and every company type.

Information entered in the register

Description of entry

Accounting period

When the regular accounting period starts and ends; exceptional accounting period

Information on, for example, the right of the Board of Directors to represent the company / the co-operative pursuant to the Limited Liability Companies Act or the Co-operatives Act

Line of business

The line of business in text form

Line of business of the auxiliary company name

The part of the actual line of business where the auxiliary company name is being used

Liquidation

Going into liquidation; public summons to creditors; liquidation proceedings are terminated; company is dissolved; extended liquidation, if any; liquidator (liquidator or substitute liquidator, personal details, how the liquidator represents the company)

Managing director

Position (managing director, substitute for the managing director), personal details

Merger

Limited companies participating in the merger and their Business IDs, date of signature of the merger agreement, summons to the creditors, implementation of the merger, final settlement

Option rights and other special rights

Date of General Meeting or Board Meeting; number of shares of different classes given

Parallel company name

Company name in another language and name of that language

Partners

Position (general or silent partner), personal details. If the partner is a legal person: its name, registration number, and register in which the legal person is entered. Amount of contribution made by silent partners.

Partnership Agreement

Date of signature of Partnership Agreement

Persons authorised to represent the company or to sign the company name

Personal details of the person authorised to represent the company/sign the company name and how this is done (individually, or two or several jointly)

Post capital contribution

Date of General Meeting which accepted the agreement to acquire property to the public limited liability company through post capital contribution

Private trader (role)

Personal details

Procuration rights

Personal details of the holder of procuration rights and how he or she represents the company (individually, or two or several jointly)

Position of members of the Supervisory Board (chairperson, ordinary member, deputy member), personal details

Supplementary share price

The supplementary share price, the number or maximum number of supplementary shares, supplementary share type, number of supplementary share series

Termination

Date of termination, type of termination (for example, the company has merged with another company, bankruptcy, the company is dissolved, the company is deleted from the register under Section 24 of the Trade Register Act, liquidation)

Trade Register number

Replaced by the Business ID on 1 April 2001. Given to companies registered before 1 April 2001

Please note: - Personal details include the Finnish personal identity code or date of birth (if the person does not have a Finnish personal identity code) of persons in a particular position in a business, and their full name, address and citizenship.